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TV Land's first original sitcom is the surprise of the summer, a sparkling, breezy comedy, in no small part due to the casting of this year's It Girl, 88-year-old Betty White as a cantankerous caretaker.

When you're hot, you're hot-which is why having Betty White in the cast has generated an unusual amount of buzz for this TV Land sitcom. But her costars-ace comic actresses Wendie Malick, Jane Leeves, Valerie Bertinelli-are the ones who add sizzle to a not too promising vehicle.

The script paints the women too broadly while offering a few too many variations on the same youth-obsessed-culture themes. Still, darned if the women don't carry it off, at least well enough to bring you back for a second episode.

Although the original remains the greatest (at least, based on the single Cleveland episode made available for review), the newer sitcom has charm, wit and actresses who could coax laughs reading the fine print of a credit card agreement.

There's something pleasing about the old-fashioned drawn-from-farce quality of Hot in Cleveland. It fits in perfectly on TV Land since it already feels like a relic, a show from an alternate reality where Seinfeld never happened, let alone the likes of single-camera mockumentary-style sitcoms like The Office and Arrested Development.

This is a cast that for the most part has experienced good, even great, writing in the past, and while I'm not saying Martin's pilot is laugh-free, it's a sight closer to her deservedly short-lived ABC sitcom "Hot Properties" than it is to "Frasier."

Hot in Cleveland, in other words, is like an artificially created rerun, as if someone discovered the masters of a sitcom that had been locked up in a vault since 1987. And I don't mean that in a good way.

Surely White must have the willpower to decline some offers--especially after the long and appreciative bask she's recently enjoyed--and she could have let this job pass. The same cannot be quite so true for Hot in Cleveland's headliners, sitcom veterans who all give off a strong and desperate whiff of trying way too hard to be even mildly funny.

Sitcoms like these deservedly died in the 80s, but after the decade of reality shows and cringecoms, I would categorise this show as comfortSitcoms like these deservedly died in the 80s, but after the decade of reality shows and cringecoms, I would categorise this show as comfort TV. If nothing else, Betty White gets the best snide lines and keeps the trio of Cleveland cougars under control.…Full Review »

TheresaP

Jun 17, 2010

0

I was extremely disappointed. There was so much promotion for this show that I expected something good. I watched the show last night and saw I was extremely disappointed. There was so much promotion for this show that I expected something good. I watched the show last night and saw 4 seasoned actresses on a show that needs life support because in my eyes it is dying before it even gets started. This was no doubt the worst show I have seen in a long time. I feel sorry for the actresses. They are good actresses but this show was the pits. Completely and totally stupid show. Terry 12.…Full Review »